Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-04-15
HORSE DOCTORS.
BY NJ. NEsAlITH, NJ. d.
Fools will venture
Where angels fear to trc:

W oAAt' SttLll1uJ CtO lllc SuDl DltCG GudU
justice which its Importance demands.
The theme on which / feel called up
on to write is to my mind one of more
than ordinary public interest, and one
upon which little or nothing has been
SAID through the public prints, or if not
so, it certainly has escaped the notice
Of the writer.
| would direct attention to the neces-
sity OF more stringent legislation for
the protection Of the public against a
class OF ignorant pretenders, known as
"horse Doctors.
This is the title by which they are
known in every community, possess
ing the requisite amount of gullibillty
to give them a support.
They make no pretension to yeterin-
airy science, which would embrace a
knowledge not only Of the horse and his
diseases but all Of our domestic animals
as we'll; and the pretentious sign which
is careened and caressed by heavens
gentlest breezes, bears these terribly
significant words = "Horse Doctor.
How guiltless they are of imparting
their true meaning, ] will undertake to
make plain as proceed. And should
|, in the presentation Of my views upon
this all important matter, chance to use
language somewhat at variance with re-
fined taste, the class Of my readers best
acquainted with my experience, will,
no doubt, pardon my utterances, even
if perchance they should differ in their
opinions:
But it is not my purpose to treat this
subject from the standpoint of personal
grievance which is by no means pheno-
menal, but furnishes an example, where
blind and stupid empyricism may be
employed to compass the defeat and
injury Of innocent parties.
| / will not stop, however, to elaborate
this idea; it must be potent to many OF
my readers.
| Permit me to say, by way Of intro
duction, that the territory of Dakota
though yetin her swaddling clothes, has
taken step far in advance Of many o.
the old commemorative whose locks
are Whitened with the frost of cen
tury. 1t consists in the safeguards
which she has thrown around the health
and well being of the humblest Of tht
thousands upon thousands who have
established homes on her prairies or fine
employment in her busy marts Of trade
We point with special pride to tina
one Of her legislative enactments whicl
restrains from the practice of medicine
any individual not a graduate of a re
+, spectacle college Of medicine, or wh'
: can prove his fitness to do SO by exam
: ination of board of physicians ant
surgeons Of recognized ability ant
skill.
} And even this, in the absence OF sa
tisfactory evidence of good moral char
acter is not sufficient. And thus fv'
hundred thousand people are enjoying
this reasonable, this necessary, this hu
. name immunity from danger ever
greater than pestilence, for the human
system is considered to complicated
ehuman" life too precious, ties to eartf
too binding, to be trusted to the charla
tan, the quack, the pretender, the un
learned. To this sentiment philanthropy
religion, and every moral instinct II
every human being should respond
with hearty Amen.
Then, if the protection of the health
of the "hlman' family, who. possess
the quality of thought, of speech, Of
reason. becomes so much a necessity as
to call fer special legislative enact.
ments, by what system OF reasoning
can we excuse our conduct toward the
poor horse, the noblest animal that
treads Gods footstcol? Ought we TO
intrust his diseases to empyricism the
most irrational, and ignorance the most
unblushing that disgraces the history
Of any civilization
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enter into the plans of the great archi-
tect to endow our animals with the tac-
ulty of speech, of thought, and reason
and make them able tc give intelligent
location to their disease and suffering
The law makes it obligatory upon the
DIR. Of medicine to understand the struc-
ture and function Of each organ Of the
marvellous machine the human body,
and the laws by which the functions OF
these organs are maintained IN a
healthy relation to each other.
Years Of close application under com
petent instructors are required TO ac-
ouire this knowledge, but our animals,
possessing an organization as compli-
cat,l as our own, q sense Of suffering
no less acute than ours, are placed IN
Tho hands Of this class Of mountehanks,
to he drenched and drugged by them,
who have no more Intelligent concep-
tion of the disease or the therapeutic